Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net)

Automatic Weather Stations (AWS)

As of the 1999 field season, 18 automatic weather stations (AWS) are collecting climate information on Greenland's ice sheet. Each AWS is equipped with a number of instruments to sample the following:

air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, pressure

accumulation rate at high temporal resolution to identify and resolve individual storms

surface radiation balance in visible and infrared wavelengths

sensible and latent heat flux fluxes

snowpack conductive heat fluxes

Hourly average data are transmitted via a satellite link (GOES or ARGOS) throughout the year. In addition, measurements are stored in solid state memory. The system is powered with two 100 Ah batteries, charged by a 10 or 20 W solar panel. The satellite data-link is powered by two separate 100 Ah batteries connected to a 20 W solar panel. This setup guarantees continuous data recordings and storage, even in the case of satellite transmission failure. The expected lifetime of the instrumentation is 5 years.

Current GC-Net Transmissions

PARCA GC-Net Automated Weather Stations (AWS) are equipped with communication satellite transmitters that enable
near-real time monitoring of weather conditions on the Greenland ice sheet. Transmission latency is as short as 4 minutes, typically 1-2 hours, and occasionally as long as 48 hours. See graphs of the most recent transmissions in the links listed on the right side of this page.